


When summer's gone, we'll carry on

by plikki



Series: Spin the record challenge [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Post-Hawk Moth Defeat, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27626258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: After a well-executed plan, Marinette and Adrien have to deal with everything that comes after Gabriel is unmasked. They do it the only way they can - together.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Spin the record challenge [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994611
Comments: 16
Kudos: 119
Collections: Miraculous: Spin The Record Challenge





	When summer's gone, we'll carry on

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to song five for the Spin the record challenge - When summer's gone from Blue's Greatest hits (as compiled by yours truly). Yet again I was struck by how perfect this song is for them (She had a love for art, painted pictures with her heart, I am a simple man, take pride in what I am, got passion for life).  
> What I wanted to do for this was a rewrite of that scene where they face Hawk Moth in his lair in Chat Blanc. This time they are a little older, better prepared and it all goes as planned. Actually this is about what happens after that, but it can help you to imagine it better.  
> Enjoy!

Adrien had always felt lonely and so small in his room. When people went there, they always noticed the cool gadgets and the space. While they’d been helpful to pass the time, he’d never liked them. They couldn’t replace human contact and that was what he’d lacked the most growing up.

The room just looked extra cold and empty now. He didn’t know when he’d stopped thinking of his house as home but it was probably around the time he started hanging out at Marinette’s more. She and her parents had always made sure he felt at home and over time he’d started feeling it. Now he just had another reason to separate the two notions in his head.

“Adrien?” he heard Marinette’s voice and turned around. 

Here she was in all her glory, his lady. In spite of her petite form, she still managed to stand tall and look formidable. She still hadn’t dropped the fierce look on her face, maybe as a result of the talks with the police she’d just had. She was born a leader and when she embraced that part of her, everyone felt the need to follow her, so he was sure she hadn’t had a problem explaining what they wanted to be done and how. Yes, law and order had its own rules, but they were dealing with a man who’d misused an ancient jewel with magic powers, so they had a say.

Then she took a few steps towards him, simultaneously dropping her transformation, and her arms wrapped around him. Gone was the facade, the calm and collected face she put on when she was dealing with serious, superhero stuff. 

Now she was his soft and sweet Marinette. He loved her confident and brave side, he’d never stopped admiring her for it, but he loved even more when she let her guard down and was just herself - kind and sometimes silly, the next design project always on her mind, a goofy smile and endless love for him. Even after all this time he couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to be with her.

“All done?” he asked, his fingers combing her hair in a soothing manner. There was a tension in her shoulders that wasn’t gone in spite of her being in his arms. 

“Yes,” she sighed, all the weariness she felt clear in the way she leaned her weight on him. He hadn’t wanted to leave her earlier but he couldn’t be beside her as Chat Noir while also being there in his capacity as the criminal’s son. Some things were meant to stay a secret from the public, because they never knew when they might need to take advantage of them.

So he’d left her to explain everything to the police, while he was interrogated in his room. She also had the final task of casting the Miraculous cure when everything was said and done, to repair the obvious damage. The other one, in their hearts and their lives, wouldn’t be mended so easily.

“Did you talk to Nathalie?” came Marinette’s soft voice. He knew her so well he could tell from her tone of voice how worried she was about him. 

“Yeah, she stopped by before they took her away. For all it’s worth, she told me she wouldn’t have kept fighting us if she’d known it was me,” he gave a bitter laugh. Well, he believed her. Once he’d revealed his identity, her stance had changed dramatically. 

Once upon a time, he and Marinette had expected that they’d need a whole team, even an army to take on Hawk Moth. Once they knew his identity though, it had been too easy to ambush him in his lair and deal with him on their own. Since there was no one else but them there, she’d left the choice about whether to reveal who he was to him. 

He’d wanted to. He knew he wasn’t going to be swayed by whatever his father had to say, they’d been over this again and again as they prepared to take him down. He’d also wanted them to realise the full implications of their actions. How in their quest towards the unattainable dream of bringing his mother back, they’d left him completely alone. They’d been so absorbed in their evil schemes, he’d dropped off their radar.

That was how he’d been able to spend so much time with Marinette. If it hadn’t been for her, he’d probably would have broken down under the weight of solitude and neglect long ago. He didn’t know what he could do for her to repay everything she’d given him over the years, but he hoped to find out.

“I know you’re not ok and it’s perfectly normal. But what’s weighing on you right now? I can see it in your eyes, in the bitter curve of your mouth.” Yes, this was how well she knew him.

“It’s the way everyone is looking at me. It shouldn’t matter, but to everyone all I’m going to be from now on is the son of a criminal. My life was always determined by his presence before and this doesn’t seem likely to change now, only it will be even worse.”

“It doesn’t matter what they think, they don’t know you. They don’t know that you are nothing like him,” came her earnest reply.

“Am I not?” He could feel the old doubts and insecurities seep into him again in spite of how far he’d gone.

“Yes! You’re kind and you always do what’s right and you’d never use people for your own end. You’re made of love and it’s the fact that you always keep on giving that makes you what you are.”

“You didn’t seem to like how open I was with my feelings in the past,” he teased her.

“Ha, you had bad timing and were just a bit too stubborn for your own good, but I never had a problem with you wearing your heart on your sleeve. This was what made me love you even more.” This time he didn’t have anything else to say, so he just kissed the top of her head and held her.

“Are we free to go?” she asked after a while. 

“There is nothing keeping me here,” he replied, looking around. He wouldn’t even miss this place when it was gone. He didn’t know what life was going to be from now on but he was happy that he’d be free to choose it for himself.

“I’m not going to say it will be ok,” Marinette said as if reading his mind. “It’s going to be hard. While one danger has passed, we’ll need years to deal with the weight of everything we’ve been through. And the world will need to heal. We’ll just keep on going. Together.”

This was the moment to show her that all this hadn’t been in vain. They were older and wiser and better equipped to deal with life. All the pain and bad memories were worth it if they got to walk together. 

“Let’s go home,” he told her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come join the [ Miraculous Fanworks Discord](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) to take part in great challenges or just have fun with like-minded people!


End file.
